


True Trans Soul Rebel

by curlyhairedwoes



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Trans, Gender Dysphoria, Trans Character, Trans Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2019-10-11 00:48:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17436689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curlyhairedwoes/pseuds/curlyhairedwoes
Summary: Small vignettes of trans Tony growing up and living life. Tags and such will be updated as more chapters are added.





	1. Period.

**“** And that, gentlemen, is how it’s done.” Tony ends with a smirk, dropping the piece of chalk back into place before starting to turn and walk away. “I’ll be back, feel free to try to figure it out yourselves in the meanwhile.” He tosses back as he strides through the room elegantly, his fellow students gawking at the chalkboard in his wake.

“ _Christ_.” Tony grits out, holding his middle as he sat over a toilet. “Normally I love vaginas, but this one…” He groans, another wave of pain hitting him. He never kept track of the date, so of course he hadn’t realized his period was due to come back. No pills and no pads or tampons. And he was currently stuck in the men’s bathroom anyways. Lucky him.

This was so unfair. Just another burden put on him by a jealous god. If he should even exist.

Fuck, what was he going to _do?_ His periods were excruciating. And he couldn’t very well let himself bleed through his pants on the drive back to his apartment. Or through the rest of his classes. And there was no way in **_hell_ **he was going to the women’s bathroom.

Wait.

“Yeah, Rhodey?” Tony asks, phone held tightly against his ear as he folded further against himself. “How much do you know about period products?”


	2. Goatee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is with kid Tony! Takes place in the mcu, not sure the exact age of Tony here, but he's a kid.  
> I use she/her pronouns here as it's before Tony knows about their true gender identity.  
> Went with Tony's deadname being Natasha based off of the 3490 universe, deciding that Howard and Maria would've named their child that had they been assigned female at birth.

        Soft laughter emanates from the small but extravagant bathroom. A child stands in front of the lavish, over-sized mirror as they get to work. The cap of a marker comes off with a resounding pop as the child grins in delight and excitement. They move their face this way and that as they draw on themselves, scrunching their face in a serious expression once they deemed their art perfected.

  
        “There you are!” A voice called out, shocking Natasha to her very core. They’d been caught, too distracted by their fun to hear the approaching steps in time. Jarvis’ aging face came into view, his stern look quickly evolving into shock once his gaze falls upon the young Stark’s face. “What…you miss, what have you done?” He asks, suddenly looking paler than before.

  
        “Isn’t it obvious?” Natasha asks, jumping down from the stool she had been standing on and twirling in place. “I got a beard!” She exclaims, gesturing to the sharpie-drawn goatee upon her young face and grinning. “Just like the man on TV!”

  
        “The man on TV?” Jarvis asks, looking rather confused.

  
        “Yeah! Mr. Sales-A-Lot!” Natasha clarifies, delight shining in her bright eyes.

  
        “The…car salesman?” Jarvis asks, face worn and tired. Natasha nods excitedly, giggling before speaking again.

  
        “What do you think? Do I look cool?” She asks hopefully, striking a few poses with confidence.

  
        “You look, young miss Stark, like you’ll be in a lot of trouble if you father sees you like this.” The butler sighs, spotting the sharpie lying on the sink. “We’ll have to wash this off before dinner.” Natasha pouts at this, looking rather annoyed and put off.

  
        “I don’t care what he thinks! He doesn’t like anything I do.” She replies, arms crossing over her chest. “I like looking like this.” She adds.

  
        “You like looking as if you have a mess on your face?” Jarvis asks sarcastically, busying himself as he grabs a washcloth and rubbing alcohol.

  
        “I like looking like a boy!” Natasha shouts, stunning the butler for a moment.

  
        “And why is that?” He asks after a brief pause, turning his attention back to the child.

  
        “I…I don’t know.” She answers, looking down at her feet. “I just do.”

  
        Jarvis doesn’t say anything at first, simply looking at Natasha as he thinks through his next decision.

  
        “Well…that may be the case, but this isn’t the way to do it.” He finally says, a small smile on his face as Natasha looks up at him with surprise in her eyes.

  
        “What do you mean?” She asks, voice small and all her earlier confidence gone.

  
        “Young miss Stark, you are far too young for facial hair. Such a look would only appear comical to others.” He explains. “However, …perhaps a short haircut would suffice?”

  
        Natasha suddenly grins wide at this, excitement returning to her small frame. “You mean it?” She asks, only for her expression to fall and her shoulders to lower. “I don’t think dad would like that, though…” She admits, deflated once more.

  
        “Don’t worry about that, my dear. I’ll talk it over with him.” Jarvis assures softly, hoping to soothe the child’s worry.

  
        Hope returns to Natasha’s eyes, though she still seems a little cautious even as she speaks. “Thanks, Jarvis.”

  
        “Of course, young miss Stark. Anything to aid you.” He responds, fondness clear in his voice.

  
        He often felt sorry for the youngest Stark; seemingly abandoned by her parents, no friends, left to be cared for either by herself or the staff of the mansion she lived in. It was no upbringing any child deserved, especially not since she was berated by Howard whenever he did happen to deign to make an appearance around her. Jarvis couldn’t do much, never a witness to outright abuse, but he wanted to help wherever he could. If something as small as a haircut would make her happy, he was more than willing to provide it.

  
        “Now,” He speaks again, gesturing to the sink and gathering Natasha’s attention once more. “We better get to work trying to scrub that atrocity off your face. Then I’ll have a word with you father.”  
Natasha hops on top of the stool again, letting Jarvis wash her face free of the marker stains she was so proud of before. Her mind wandered to what she might look like with short hair, images of herself flitting before her mind. Would her dad really let her have short hair? What would people think of her?

  
_Would they think she was a boy?_

  
        The idea delighted her, for reasons she couldn’t quite place. Still, her heart raced with excitement, smiling even as Jarvis reminded her to stand still. She looked forward to the future; tomorrow and the day after that. Things would be okay. They’d be great, in fact. She could just feel it.


	3. Anthony Edward Stark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maria helps a teenage Tony pick out his new name. He has some interesting ideas, she tries to ground him while still trying to get used to having a transgender child.

“AC/DC Stark!” “No, dear.” Maria sighs, almost regretting to help her daughter child with this task.

Maria Stark was often described as the epitome of elegance and charm, a woman who wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer and even gave her husband a run for his money. She was a philanthropist, someone who lived to help others. But her child really gave her a hard time. She had worked with all sort of people throughout her life, but no one quite matched this teenager of hers. There she, no, **HE** , was. Natasha Stark, sitting across from her and pouting. Such a beautiful child, ruining the face they were graced to have with such an expression.

“But mooooom,” Her child whined. “I want a new name! And something cool! Like…oh, what about Freddie? You know, like Mercury? From _Queen_?”

“No. You need a better name than _Freddie_. No child of mine will be named something like that.” Maria said, turning her nose up in mock disgust. Natasha simply stuck out that pink tongue of his, a gesture he seemed quite fond of, before giggling and tilting his head in thought.

“Well, Natasha’s not a boy’s name.”

“No, dear, it’s not. What about a more masculine version? Nate? Nathan?”

“No, no, that name sounds so…so _stuck-up_!” Natasha complained. “ _Nathan Stark the third, at your service._ ” He says in a fake eccentric-sounding voice, adding a small bow at the end.

Maria loved her child dearly…even if she wasn’t around as often as she wished. She used the excuse of her charities, but really, the problem, though she hated to admit it, was her husband. Howard had been so caring in the past; brilliant and loving. But he had changed over the years, becoming cruel and harsh and vindictive. She couldn’t stand to be around him much more than was required for at public events. Divorce wasn’t an option, not with the negative publicity it would cause all of them. As well as Howard’s insistence that he would make sure he would have sole custody of their only child. No…Maria couldn’t let that happen. She had always hoped he would change, suddenly become better and realize how sick he truly was. But the longer things went on, the more it felt like Maria was simply fooling herself.

“Mom!” A voice interrupts, drawing Maria’s attention back to her child and the concerned on his face.

“I’m sorry, dear. My mind went elsewhere.” She apologizes. Natasha pauses for a moment, eyes reflecting the calculations he always seemed to be performing in that massive brain of his.

“I was asking you something. What you would’ve named me if you had…if I was born a boy.” He says meekly, almost as if he was afraid of the answer.

Maria moves closer to her child, gently running a hand through her newly short hair. ~~Her~~ _His_ hair had always been so beautiful and long…she missed her daughter. Missed everything about her. But maybe this was what she earned, being gone from her child so often. She missed out on her little Natasha. But her son…maybe she’d have a second chance with him.

“Well,” She starts. “Your father…he had wanted a son, originally. Wanted to name him after his brother, Edward.” She seems Natasha’s eyes dull at that, a clear sign of disinterest. “But I was always fond of the name Anthony.” She adds with a warm smile, running her fingers through Natasha’s brown locks once more.

“Anthony…” He says, sounding the name out on his tongue.

“Tony.” Maria says. “That’s what I would have called you. Anthony Edward Stark…but my little Tony.”

Natasha smiles at that, eyes watering a little before he sniffs and wipes at his eyes. Another imprint left upon him by Howard.

“I like it.” He says, voice soft. “It sounds cool. Anthony Edward Stark. Like a king!” He adds, with a proud smirk.

“Then it’s yours. My gift to my…my _son_. Tony.” Maria moves her hand to his shoulder, resting it there fondly as Tony looked up at her with a mixture of emotions.

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, my little Tony.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea of Tony's dead name being Natasha comes from the comics. In one universe, the Civil War superhero event is avoided because a female version of himself marries Steve Rogers. That female version of Tony is named Natasha Stark. I figured that Natasha is just what his parents would've named their daughter. I find that more realistic than having Tony's dead name be something like Antonia or Toni or the like.
> 
> Short chapter, but I plan on updating soon since this semester of college is almost over.


	4. Period, part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another one about menstruation cause apparently I can't help myself. Set later in time than the first one, this time with Pepper helping our favorite idiot genius. Takes place pre-Iron Man 1 and early into Pepper and Tony's friendship/work relationship. Can be seen as Pepperony pretty easily. Hope you enjoy!

 

_Help. I'm dying._

 

        Is all the text says. It's all it needs to say to make Pepper's heart race as she quickly grabs her things and races to her car.

 

        Tony was, if anything, a truly different type of boss than she had ever had. He was charming, egotistical, selfish...but also, in rare moments that shone through the clouds of doubt, caring. He was touted as a genius, but constantly acted as if he were a complete imbecile.

 

        None of that mattered now, though. Virginia gave her opinions on the man little thought as she raced to his house. He may be over-exaggerating, as he so often did, but what if he wasn't? She'd never forgive herself if truly was dying and she simply played it off as a boy crying wolf. So, raced she did, lucky to not come across any cops as she did.

 

        She's let into Tony's home easily enough, being recognized as his assistant by his AI, JARVIS (Virginia was still getting used to that). JARVIS tells her that Tony was currently laying in his bed and she thanks him (them? it?) before going on her way. She had her phone out, ready to call an ambulance or police or _whoever_  was needed as she burst into Tony's room. She swings the door open, not caring to open it gently or quietly, and is greeted by the side of Tony laying half-naked in his bed, his back turned to her and a groan emanating from his throat.

 

        "Tony, I'm here, what's wrong?" She asks, quick-walking over to his side as she looked over his body for wounds. Nothing obvious, not even any scratches or bruises, but maybe it was something internal.

 

        "Pepper..." He groans out, a nickname he had picked out for her after their rather bombastic first meeting. "I..."

 

        Another groan, his head turns further against his pillows as if to bury himself. He clutches at his middle, a pained look on his face as he speaks again.

 

        "I'm menstruating!" He finally says, a word that hits Virginia like a pan dropping to the floor.

 

        "You're...what?" She asks, completely stunned.

 

        "Ugh, don't make me say it again!" He says with a glare, pulling the blankets up to cover his whole body. "It's bad enough that I still get these!"

 

        "Right. Virginia had almost forgotten this about her boss. He was transgender. Meaning he could still have the sex organs he was born with. She never gave it much thought, not seeing it as something she should make a big deal out of, but she supposed that it was something she should occasionally make note of...

 

        At least in situations like this.

 

        "So, you're not dying." She says with a sigh, sitting next to him on the bed.

 

        "It feels like I am! My guts are tearing themselves apart! Traitors." He grumbles, voice muffled by the cushy blankets.

 

        "Do you have any supplies here?"

 

        "No...I always forget to buy those. I don't even like being _near_ that aisle." Not that he did most of his own shopping, but the thought still remained.

 

        "Right. I guess it's a good thing I always carry some with me, then." She says, digging around her purse as Tony peeks his head out from under the covers. She eventually pulls out a bottle of pills, specifically ones made for period cramps and headaches.

 

        "God, you're a life saver, Pep!" Tony gasps, quickly reaching for the bottle and reminding Virginia of the small creature from Lord of the Rings. What was his name...? Ah, right, Gollum. She's sure Tony wouldn't appreciate the comparison, though.

 

        He quickly pops a couple of the pills into his mouth, dry-swallowing them in a way that worries Virginia a little. Something to think about later, she supposed.

 

        "Pep?" She asks afterwards, confused by the sudden change in her nickname.

 

        "Yeah, short for Pepper!"

 

        "Oh, good. I was worried there that you were calling me peppy."

 

        "You? Never." Tony replied, a smirk finding it's way on his lips as he looked at her.

 

        Even in the short time they had known each other, the two had quite the repertoire. They often traded teases and jokes back and forth, their banter being more playful than anything. Seeing the return to it, as well as the man's smirk, eased Virginia's nerves a little. Even as his face scrunched in pain once more as he leaned back against his bed post.

 

        "I also have tampons, if you..." She starts, stopping as a look of disgust falls upon Tony's face.

 

        "No tampons. I, uh, don't want anything...in there." He explains, looking a little vulnerable in a way Virginia had never seen before on the man.

 

        "Okay." She replies simply, posture relaxed now as she talked to him. "Do you...have any pads?"

 

        "Just the one I'm wearing right now, I think."

 

        "I'll go pick some up, then. Any other requests?"

 

        "More pills." Tony answers quickly. "And...chocolate." He adds after a pause, looking down and away as if embarrassed.

 

        "No problem." Virginia says softly, hoping to reassure him.

 

        She stands from the bed and checks her purse once more, looking to make sure she had everything as she walked towards the door. "I'll be right back. Text me if anything else comes to mind."

 

        "Pepper-" Tony's voice calls out as she reaches out for the door handle, causing her to turn back.

 

        "Thanks. I'll have to give you a raise after this." He says, the vulnerable look returning to his soft eyes once more.

 

        Virginia pauses at that, the emotions of the sentiment and what he was trying to convey hitting her like a wave.

 

        "I don't need a raise." She says, shaking her head and smiling softly. "Just try not to give me a heart attack next time."

 

        And with that, she leaves. Turning around and closing the door just in time to miss the fond smile that Tony gives off.

 

* * *

 

_Later._

 

        "For the record," Tony says, interrupting himself to pop another piece of chocolate in his mouth. "I feel like it's <i>incredibly</i> manly to make it through this every month. I mean, come on, I bleed for an **entire week**  make it through unbearable pain, and that's somehow feminine?" He shakes his head.

 

        "It's pretty tough." Virginia agrees, nodding her head as she typed away at her laptop.

 

        "See? You agree! And we almost _never_  agree on things! That just proves that I'm right."

 

        "You always manage to bring it back to being about you." She sighs, part of her wondering why she decided to stay after her shopping trip.

 

        "Well, yeah." Tony replies. "Which is why I'm wondering why you're still working! Come on, you're already working by babysitting your ill boss. We should use the day as an excuse to relax!"

 

        "Is that why you keep trying to sneak past me to get to your garage?"

 

        "What? It's relaxing to work on my cars. I could do it blindfolded!"

 

        "You need to rest, Tony. Weren't you telling me just an hour ago that you never wanted to leave your bed again?"

 

        "Yeah, but that was an hour ago."

 

        "If you want to work, you should get started on the stack of paperwork I gave you three days ago."

 

        "You know, I'm suddenly feeling really faint."

 


End file.
